Samsung phones, especially budget and mid-range ones, are notorious for their shutter lag. A slow shutter can lead to blurry images and make it harder for you to shoot moving objects. Luckily, there are a number of things you can do to mitigate this problem.
7Close Other Apps and Clear Memory
The camera app is one of the most demanding apps on your phone, so making sure it runs as expected requires a lot of free memory. If most of the memory is already occupied by apps running in the background and other system processes, the camera app tends to act up.
This lack of adequate memory leads to slower image processing and, therefore, increased shutter lag. That’s why it’s a good idea to clear your memory before using the camera app. To do so, go toSettings > Device care > Memoryand tapClean now.
You may notice that certain apps keep relaunching and running in the background even after you’ve cleared them from memory, hogging processing power. To avoid this, you can put them into deep sleep by going toSettings > Battery > Background usage limits > Deep sleeping appsand selecting the problem apps.
6Tap Your Subject to Focus
Most people take photos on their phones by simply opening the camera app and tapping the shutter button. This is convenient but can greatly increase shutter lag.
If you don’t tap your subject to focus before taking the shot, your phone has to take an extra second or two to guess what the subject is, focus on it, and adjust camera settings such as the ISO, shutter speed, and white balance accordingly. And this guesswork isn’t always accurate, so the camera may focus on the wrong thing.
If you tap to focus manually, the camera knows what the subject is and is ready to shoot. You can even tap the padlock icon in the viewfinder to freeze the current camera settings so they don’t accidentally change while you’re shooting.
5Lower the Image Resolution
Shooting at a higher resolution gives you a larger file so you may zoom into it without losing too much detail, but it also requires your phone to do more image processing and hence takes more time. This is especially true on cheaper devices since their processors are weaker.
Taking shots in lower resolution minimizes processing times and hence helps reduce shutter lag. Picking a lower resolution is highly recommended if you’re shooting at nighttime, since shooting at high resolution tends to add image noise in darker environments.
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4Use Pro Mode to Manually Adjust Shutter Speed
Pro Mode offers granular control over your camera settings. By manually increasing the shutter speed, you can significantly reduce lag. However, keep in mind that lowering it too much can darken the image, so you might have to adjust the ISO accordingly for optimal results.
To use Pro Mode, swipe on the camera modes row and go to the More tab. Here, drag the tile named Pro, put it alongside other camera modes, and hitSave. In Pro Mode, use the slider to manually tune the shutter speed.
It’s not advisable to increase the shutter speed if you’re shooting in darker environments, because closing the shutter too early means your phone won’t be able to capture enough light, leading to grainy photos. If you’re shooting landscapes in the daytime or objects in a well-lit room, you may experiment with the shutter speed.
3Consider Taking Burst Shots
If you’re shooting moving objects, take burst shots to ensure you don’t miss the action. It’s a camera setting where your phone takes multiple photos in quick succession, so it’s likely to capture just the right moment, and you don’t have to time things perfectly.
To do so, open the camera app, go to Settings, and tapSwipe Shutter button toand then selectTake burst shot. Now, slide down the shutter button to take burst shots. Photos taken in burst mode are organized under a single tile, so your gallery doesn’t get crowded.
Burst mode is not supported in low-light conditions, so make sure there is adequate ambient light if you choose to use the feature.
2Turn Off Auto HDR, Scene Optimizer, and Filters
Applying filters, enabling Auto HDR, and usingSamsung camera featureslike Scene Optimizer also add extra workload to the image processing pipeline and may hinder you taking continuous shots, so try disabling them from the camera settings.
Auto HDR works by taking multiple photos at different exposure levels and combining them to create a single image with more detail. While helpful, this process takes time and can sometimes even make your photo look unnatural.
Scene optimizer identifies what you’re looking at and boosts color and contrast accordingly, but its results aren’t always objectively better. Filters can be applied after you’ve taken a shot in the Samsung Gallery app or viathird-party photo editing apps.
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1Use Camera Assistant Module in Good Lock
Samsung’s customization suite, Good Lock,contains all sorts of modules to help you make the most out of your device. One of these modules is Camera Assistant, and it includes a feature dedicated to reducing shutter lag, called Quick Tap Shutter.
You see, by default, the camera only captures a photo when you release the shutter button. But with Quick Tap Shutter enabled, the shot is taken as soon as you touch the button. It’s a small change, but can help when capturing moments happening in a split second.
Since it’s a Samsung-exclusive app, you may onlydownload the Camera Assistant appfrom the Galaxy Store,not the Google Play Store. Once you’ve installed it, launch your camera app, go toSettings > Camera Assistant,and enable theQuick Tap Shuttertoggle.
It’s unlikely that using just one or two of these tips will make much of a difference, but using them all in unison should indeed bring noticeable improvements. Of course, don’t expect iPhone-like fluidity; there’s only so much you as a user can do to optimize the camera system.
